


shit happens

by mooselady



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-04 16:43:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooselady/pseuds/mooselady
Summary: some fics





	1. breakfast shit

**Author's Note:**

> youre probably not smoking the right kind of weed you should try smoking more sativa dominant strains

For the fifteenth time in a row, Ava Ire missed the target.

It had been her idea when they woke up that morning to lock themselves in the upstairs bathroom to smoke. Groggy and disoriented, she had watched as Odin had tossed dirty laundry from the pile of clothing in the corner of his room, searching for his stash kept in the back pocket of a pair of jeans.

It was with a quiet carefulness that they opened his bedroom door, poking their heads out to check the hall was empty, before meandering into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it.

“I love this,” she had told him. She sat on the edge of the tub, legs crossed, watching as he stuffed the pipe with hash. “It already feels like summer.”

Odin looked up, smiling, his eyes darting from the pipe in his hands to the girl in front of him.

He took out his lighter, asking, “W-Will you open the window?”

She did, standing on tiptoes to undo the latch and let in the fresh morning air.

They listened to the birds sing from the safety of the pine trees surrounding his home. From the east came the light, and at seeing the shimmer it made over the tops of the trees, Ava sighed a thick exhale of smoke, her body leaned against the wall.

She passed the pipe to Odin, who stood opposite of her, his weight supported by one leg. He breathed in, propping an elbow into the windowsill and resting his chin in his hand as he exhaled.

“Do you s-see the hole in that dying tree?”

Ava gazed out, eyes half lidded.

“Yeah.”

She looked over at him, grinning at seeing how slow he was about taking another lungful of the drug.

He exhaled, nodding and letting out a brisk cough.

“I used to k-keep things in there. There’s s-still things in there.”

He let out a short laugh.

“You kn-know. Stuff.”

The taller boy handed Ava the pipe. She took the lighter from where it rested on the windowsill and clicked the flame over the green, sucking in fumes as Odin’s shoulders steadily relaxed, his face turned towards the rising sky.

“How can you tell it’s dying?” she asked.

Odin scratched at his beard, his gaze becoming a glare.

He softened as he watched the heavy cloud of smoke leave Ava’s mouth.

“It’s just been s-sick for awhile. The bark is bad.” He waved a hand at it. “It w-won’t make it through the summer.”

She looked at him, to the shower curtain, to the reflection of the tiled floor in the mirror. She shifted from one foot to the other, the high causing her to find pieces of colors and trinkets of sounds in the atmosphere that had seemed obsolete before. The drip of the faucet. The occasional rise and fall of the cicada scream. The way her bare feet stuck to the floor when she found herself standing still for however long.

Ava wasn’t sure how long they were in that bathroom. Eventually they both found themselves sitting on the floor, her back against the tub, him sitting crosslegged underneath the window. The sunlight washed over her, making her squint her eyes and wrinkle her nose, while Odin stayed shrouded in the shadow, every now and then covering his laugh by hiding his face into his shoulder.

Ava pawed at the dust flecks swirling in the light.

“I can make it this time. Watch.”

She unraveled toilet paper from the roll, snickering as Odin’s laugh rolled into a groan, him leaning forward until his head touched the floor.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, mocking a serious tone.

He raised a hand at the trashcan, where fourteen crumpled balls of toilet paper lay littered across the floor.

“No!” Ava insisted, rounding the paper into a ball. “I’m going to make it in this time.”

She stopped, laughing so hard that she hiccuped as she watched him roll over onto his side, his bare knees pressed against his chest, waiting for her to make a move.

Ava aimed at the trashcan, tossing the ball high into the air. It missed, landing defeated in the corner of the bathroom.

She dropped her hands into her lap, her shoulders sagged.

“At least you tr-tried,” he admonished.

Ava squinted at him, sticking out her tongue before stretching her legs out in front of her. The unshaved hairs shined blonde in the light.

“I’m hungry,” the girl said, staring at her hands resting in her lap.

Odin rolled over onto his stomach, crawling forward on his elbows. He bumped his forehead against her knee, rubbing his beard at her thigh while saying, “We c-can make breakfast.” Ava meant to place her hand on his head, to feel his black hair on her hands, but he lifted himself to his knees, awkwardly stumbling backwards before standing up.

He moved to leave the bathroom, and Ava stood to join him, relishing in how slow the world moved and how the light seemed to seep through her skin, straight to her bloodstream, warming her from the inside out.

She grabbed the tail end of his shirt and followed him downstairs.

The girl kept her eyes to the ground, asking herself why she was smiling at every little thing she saw, from the worn wooden floors beneath her to the sleeping hound on the couch. She bit back a laugh when the dog opened one eye as they passed by, causing her to bury herself face first into Odin’s back.

He turned around, lifting his arms when a voice rang out from the kitchen.

“Odin?”

Ava’s eyes went wide as saucers as the sound of Olai’s footsteps came into the hall.

She saw his boots first, then looked up to see the face of Odin’s brother.

That too made her want to laugh, but she told herself he was the last person in the house she wanted to see.

“I’ve got to run a few errands,” he said. “Can you-”

He stopped, furrowing his brow at the girl still holding onto the back of Odin’s shirt.

“She okay?”

Odin coughed, stifling a laugh. He reached an arm around Ava’s shoulders, pulling her to his side.

“Yeah. She’s sleep deprived,” the teenager answered. Ava fluttered her eyes closed, grinning and nodding, the side of her face pressed close against Odin’s ribs.

Olai stood tall, crossing his arms.

“Uh huh. All right. Odin, can you plant that sapling in the backyard today?”

Odin nodded as if he were listening to the beat of a good song.

“Hmhmm,” he hummed. “The uh, the-”

He snapped his fingers.

“Th-The dogwood.”

Olai kept his arms crossed, glaring at his younger brother.

“Just get it done,” he said, exasperated at seeing the pair of them stoned. He stepped around them, grabbing his keys and pack of cigarettes off the hall table. Odin called out, “C-Can I bum one of your’s?”

Olai kept walking towards the front door, stepping backwards as he tossed the pack to his brother. Odin caught it, blinking at seeing the pack in his hands. He opened his mouth to ask Olai why he had given him the entire pack, but he had already walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

The grandfather clock ticked rhythmically as the house began to fill with bright morning light.

Odin looked at Ava, raising his brow in surprise at the good fortune.

The kitchen smelled of lemon and rosemary, a scent that made Ava sneeze not once, but twice, covering her nose as Odin carefully pulled the skillet from the cabinet. The weight caught him unexpected for a moment, causing him to nearly drop it and Ava’s wet hand to shoot out and catch the bottom.

He smiled at her, saying, “We m-might have eggs, in the fridge.” Ava went to the fridge, rummaging through it as his thoughts seemed to pause there as he retraced his steps, remembering how she had just sneezed on her hand, and how that very hand had touched the skillet, and now he decided, the only sensible thing to do would be to wipe the skillet clean with the hem of his boxers.

“Can you do all this?” Ava asked, taking the carton of eggs from the fridge and slowly opening it. “I mean-”

She tilted her chin, letting her face be washed in warm sunlight.

“Can you cook when you feel like this?”

He took an egg from the carton, then put it back, registering the fact he needed to turn the stove on first before cooking an egg.

“Yeahhh,” he droned on, yawning as he placed the skillet on the stovetop, twisting the dial and making sure the coils were heating red.

Odin leaned against the counter, breathing calmly, his head and neck slouched forward in that ever present bad posture.

“How often?” she persisted, taking her time to lift herself up and sit on the counter.

“Alot,” he said, then thought about it, tilting his head. His expression became serious as he stared at the ground, lost in the series of answers he thought about explaining but wasn’t sure how to say.

Ava swung her legs back and forth, feeling as though the wall was pulling her back, and the warmth coming from the window was pulling her forward.

She pulled herself cross-legged, propping her head to rest in her hands as she watched him crack an egg, the wet yolk sizzling and popping.

The dogs of the house heard the noise, trotting into the kitchen and finding their place to sit and look up at the teenager as he shuffled from the stove to the counter.

He did this a few times before halting in front of Ava.

“H-How do you feel?”

She offered a smile, answering, “Alright.”

He didn’t move, and she swallowed, not looking away from his eyes.

The whites of his eyes were red, and she felt something bubble up from her stomach, making her mouth twitch and nose flare before laughing and looking down.

Odin’s gaze went soft, and he stepped back to move the eggs around with a spatula.

Decidedly he moved back to her, deftly planting a kiss at the side of her mouth before turning back to the eggs, a blushing hue staining the back of his neck.

The girl lowered her gaze to the floor, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over her before she let it go, remembering that this is where she wanted to be, and cooking breakfast with Odin on this summer morning was what she wanted to do.

Still, when Odin placed the spatula on the counter beside her, she reached out, letting her fingertips graze over the top of his hand.

The household dogs licked at their jowls, shifting from one foot to the other as Odin filled two bowls with the cooked eggs.

They ate outside, sitting on the back steps of the porch, occasionally letting a dog eat from the palm of their hand, then wiping clean the slobber onto their shirts.

Ava could see the dogwood sapling plopped in the yard, still as could be. Noon was ascending, hot and humming with june bugs, when Odin took his and Ava’s empty bowl into the house.

She closed her eyes, her outstretched hand feeling the tops of the dogs’ heads as they bumped into each other, hoping to get her attention. She winced and veered back at feeling the hound’s tongue lick at her nose.

“Okay,” Odin’s voice chimed, opening the screen door and letting it close with a racket. “I’m going t-to plant the tree.”

Ava’s eyes darted to his bare feet, watching as they stepped onto the lawn.

She wasn’t sure what to think, watching as he went into the shed to retrieve a shovel. The light was so bright, too bright, making it difficult to make out which way he was turning, or where he was going to break ground first. All that made sense was the coarse fur of the dog’s vying for her attention, and the shimmer of the ring tied around the chain on his neck, and the overwhelming feeling that she suddenly wanted to inspect the hole he was digging.

Ava stood and trudged over, bringing her hair over her shoulder and off her neck. When she stood in front of him she placed her hands against her back and looked down. She pursed her mouth, imagining herself stepping into that hole, waiting for whenever the rain would come to turn her skin to mud.

The girl squatted, only looking up when Odin placed the dogwood into its foundation.

He turned on his heel, pinching the cigarette from his ear and placing it between his lips, slowing his spin as he cupped his hand around the flame to light it.

Ava cupped one hand around the soil and plowed it across the earth, letting it fall into the hole. After filling it, she wrapped her arms around her knees, her hair falling over her ears.

She looked up at the boy, squinting against the sunlight.

“You know that tree you showed me? From the bathroom?”

Odin raised his brows, then quickly glanced over to the side of the house, where the tree stood.

He nodded, taking the cigarette from his mouth to exhale.

“What’s in it?” she asked.

Odin turned halfway, balancing on one foot to let his other foot smooth out the grass.

Inhaling his cigarette, the teenager turned his back, walking off slowly, methodically, a hand on his hip that gestured for her to follow him.

Ava narrowed her eyes, then looked at the tree, then back to Odin, who was walking away from the question.

The girl stood and darted, her heel tearing up grass as she ran to it.

Odin saw her, flicking his cigarette as he shouted, “H- _Hey!_ ” before taking off after her, running past the dogwood sapling, his shirt sleeve snagging on a leaf, causing it to rip and fall to the ground.

Ava shrieked, laughing, looking behind her and seeing him gaining on her, but before she could reach the tree, she looked behind her again. In that instant something foreign struck her heart. It happened so quickly that the only word she could commit to the feeling was _fear_.

She never thought too much of what Odin’s family had told her about him being a hunter.

For an instant she saw that namesake burn in his eyes.

The girl nearly stumbled on her own feet as he reached out, catching her at the collar of her shirt. He didn’t slow down in time, causing him to stumble into her, still holding onto her shirt as they toppled to the ground together.

“Get off of me!” she huffed, pushing away the bony parts of him that were digging into her side.

She slapped away his hand, bringing herself to rest on her heels, her face brightening red, her voice becoming strained and high when she spoke.

“I was just kidding! I only wanted to see what you had in there!”

“It’s a s-secret!” he shot back, coming to his knees. “Don’t you kn-know what a s-s-secret is!”

Ava bit at her bottom lip, drawing her shoulders back. She crossed her arms and looked away, spitting words like acid at the ground.

“Of course I know what a secret is. But they’re not supposed to last forever.”

Odin sucked in a sharp breath, standing up and moving away. Ava peered from the corner of her eye to see blood staining his knees where they had scraped the ground.

She expected him to round the corner and walk into the house.

Her eyes widened when he went to the tree, reaching his hand into the hole. He turned, walking back towards her, the hair on her arms rising at seeing the anger in each step.

“Here- ” he dropped a stack of papers in front of her. They were laminated, shimmering like fish scales.

“-R-read them.”

Ava eyed him first, then took one. It was a police report. She read down the lines, finding the name “Arrow, Odin.” DOB: 11/01/1975. Age 16.

She read over it, pursing her mouth.

She nodded, unable to unclench her jaw as she picked up another one and began reading it.

This one was for him too. She dropped it and picked up another one. It was a report for Olai. She looked at the one beneath it and realized the two reports coincided with each other.

She lifted the last one to read, damning the hot pinpricks coming to her eyes.

“So the youngest age I see is-”

Ava shook her head, as if to banish the hard lump in her throat and the emotion surrounding what these reports meant.

She couldn’t finish. Odin stood there, the hot summer sun causing sweat to bead at his forehead. He wiped it away with his shirt, then went to his knees to sit cross-legged.

Ava held the reports in her hand, tapping them against the ground, then looked up at him. He was tearing a piece of grass from the ground, then realizing she was waiting, Odin interlocked his hands and rested his chin atop them, his elbows digging into his knees, the sweat on his back cooling as they sat under the shade of trees.

“I w-was fifteen. And I know I sh-shouldn’t have done it.”

Ava sighed.

“You and Olai stole someone’s property?”

Odin glanced at the report, then shook his head, dancing over the question in his mind.

“We trespassed, th-then we stole car parts from a j-junkyard.”

“What were the cars parts for?” she questioned.

Odin answered, “W-We were going to sell them. We needed m-money because-”

He meant to explain, but instead shook his head, leaning his head on one hand, motioning towards the house, and ultimately, to his family.

Ava inhaled a deep, shuddering breath.

From above came a voice.

“Odin!”

The teenagers looked to the sound, wheeling their heads up to see Crow lifting herself up, her elbows on the windowsill from the upstairs bathroom.

“You took the weed with you, right?” Ava mumbled, keeping her eyes to Crow.

“Y-Yes,” he whispered back.

“Odin!” Crow called out again, lifting her hand to show him the tiny bag of weed she had found left on the sink.

“No,” Odin whispered again.

Raven peeked her head over the windowsill, waving at Ava, a devilish grin on her face as Crow called out, “Can we have this?”

Odin made a noise from the back of his throat, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment then deftly yelled, “Wh- _What_? No!!”

The girls’ laughter reverberated as they disappeared out of view.

“Crow!” Odin stood, dashing to the side of the house. He turned in a split second to look at Ava. She smiled, glancing from his breathless open mouth to the dried blood on his knees.

“Raven!” he shouted. He rounded the corner. Ava heard the front door screen open with its rusty creak, then not a moment later, slap shut with a bang.

Ava held the reports in her hand, rising to her feet. She heard a crash come from the inside of the house, muffled by the walls of the Arrow home. In the summer heat, she kept her feet as a foundation to the ground, lifting her head and craning her neck to look up at the canopy of leaves above her. They were motionless, embracing the welcomed sunshine into their bodies, the rising chorus of the cicadas vibrating through the balmy hazy heat. She made to put the papers back in the tree hole. A june bug bumped into her hand, and she brushed it away, the feeling of its spiny sticky legs lingering as she carefully placed the secret back where it came from.

She laid her hand flat on the tree trunk, knowing eventually the time would come that the tree would die, and the family would have to cut it down.

She peered over her shoulder to see the newly planted dogwood sapling standing scrawny but ready.

Stepping back, Ava smiled, unsure why, before moving away from the shade into the bright sunlight.


	2. more shit happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ava gets arrested

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrote this a while ago but i'm posting it here. ava and odin choose to live in a shithole to be away from their families, they do illegal shit, sometimes.   
> ava gets arrested, odin has issues, stategos six is only half an asshole c'est la vie

Afternoon naps on the couch usually ended one of two ways: an hour of uninterrupted peace, sharing the couch and dozing off in half-dedicated sleep, or the other way, which ended in both of them being breathless, sweaty, and worn out.

They realized, on this hot June afternoon, it was quickly turning into the latter.

“Don’t stop,” Ava choked out, her words tumbling forth as she quickly swallowed. She took in a deep lungful of air, her nails digging into Odin’s arms as he sidled in further, pressing his hand in closer between her thighs. 

They heard the school bus rumble its way down the street, causing both of them to pause and glance up at the open window above them. The white sheen of the curtains kept them hidden from view, and because of the heat of the day, no wind moved into the living room, enough to make the air stifling hot and uncomfortable to move in.

The school bus rolled its way through the dump of the neighborhood they had taken residence in, and then Odin, lying on top, ducked forward, pressing his mouth against her neck, pushing his fingers in deeper. Ava gasped, immediately reaching down to grab hold of his wrist. He planted a kiss on her mouth, trailing his lips over as he asked, “Do you l-like it?”

She dug her nails into his hand, frowning for a moment, concentrating on what exactly she  _was_  feeling. Nodding, she refused to open her mouth, in fear that a moan would escape her throat, and someone, possibly anyone, would be able to hear from the open window. She couldn’t help it though, reaching up to wrap the crook of her arm around his neck, gasping, “Please, go harder.”

The desperation in her voice made his breathing pick up, his heart beating faster as he placed his free hand behind her back, pulling her closer as they laid side by side on the couch, moving with the motion of her body against his. Ava brought her fingers to Odin’s lips, coaxing him to open his mouth, letting his tongue run hot and wet over her fingertips before she laughed, hiding her face into the pillow, her hair falling forward. Without another thought, Ava reached down, fumbling for the button on his jeans. Eyes half-closed, Odin pulled her hair off her face, over her neck, brushing his lips over the temple of her head, both of them going slack at the other’s touch. Feeling the sweat at the nape of his neck, Ava curled her hand into his hair, rolling her eyes to the ceiling and muttering, “Go down.” He licked at her bottom lip, pushing back on his hand to make his way down her body, when abruptly the doorbell chimed.

“Ignore it,” she mumbled, pulling him up at the jaw to kiss him on the mouth once, reaching her hand into his briefs, the heat between them growing and tugging desperately.

The doorbell chimed again, this time followed by three stern knocks.

Odin nearly growled when he lifted himself up to glare out the window. The knocking continued, and Ava let out a sigh as Odin got up, nearly tripping over a pile of dirty laundry as he sidestepped the mess on the floor.

In one swoop he flung the door open, spitting out, “ _What?_ ” but immediately took in a choppy inhale of breath, his eyes going wide as saucers as he looked into the blue eyes of Strategos Six.

At the sight of the police officer, Odin pushed the door with his palm to close it, only to have the door stopped midway by Six’s hand.

They opened their mouth, intending to tell him their reason for being there, but halted, their eyes narrowing as they looked him up and down, at the tufts of black hair sticking out in disarray to his unbuttoned jeans sliding loosely down his hips to the obvious nail marks covering his arms.

Six said nothing but tipped their head as if to say,  _oh please_ , before reaching for their notepad, stating, “I have a warrant for her arrest.”

As if in a daze, Odin blinked a few times quickly, moving as if to speak to someone behind him but stopping himself. He tapped his finger against the doorframe, one hand on his hip.

“I’m alone,” he said.  

Six didn’t move, but spoke clear and precise.

“No you’re not.”

They moved to step inside, but Odin shuffled in front of them, keeping his voice low.

“Wh-What did she do?”

Six was at the threshold now, their foot decidedly planted in the hallway of the house.

“You’re wasting my time. Move.”

Odin didn’t move, although he remained cautious, not wanting to start a fight against the officer. His eyes bore into Six, and with a shake of their head, they answered, “She’s committed arson. And this time the house she set on fire wasn’t empty.”

Six used the split second of Odin’s slack disbelief to push past him, into the hallway, their hand resting flat over their gun as they announced, “Ava Ire, I’m here for your arrest.”

They discovered the living room was empty.

Six quickly took in the state of their living quarters, their face scrunching in disgust at the rotting food stacked along the fireplace sill, piles of discarded clothes lying with disregard about the floor, records and photographs and newspaper clippings tacked to the wall or to the chairs. The house reeked of cigarette smoke and mold, enough that Six turned to cough into their elbow. Artwork was piled against the wall, still-wet paint glistening in the glow of the late afternoon sun. The air was stifling hot, and they realized there was no AC in the foreclosed house. Upon seeing a handgun laying cold on the table, they turned on their heel, intent on finding the girl. Stepping past Odin, they shrugged away his presence, despite his urgency to speak to them.

 “She c-couldn’t have done anything. She’s been w-with m-me these past few days.”

Six opened a bedroom door, finding nothing but boxes stacked on top of each other. Closing it they continued down the hall, Odin deftly following their footsteps, speaking louder to make sure they were listening.

“Me and her, w-we’ve  _promised_  to s-s-stop fooling around.”

He scoffed to himself, unsure if Six was even listening.

“If she’s done anything, I s- _swear_  I can fix it.”

Six opened another door, raising their line of sight over the room. They froze when they saw the empty baby’s crib underneath the window, sunlight pouring over it so serenely that for a moment they thought they were dreaming.

“Th-That was in the house when w-we got here,” Odin blurted out quickly. He reached over Six’s shoulder to shut the door, but Six shrugged him away, their eyes roaming over the room meticulously.

“What are you two doing here?” they asked. Spoken aloud, it didn’t make much sense to either of them standing there in the doorway.

Not wanting to memorize the curve of the cradle anymore, they stepped past Odin, shutting the door behind them.

“We’re...We’re....” Odin glanced up at the ceiling, at the brown water spots decorating the shadows like blood splatters. He rubbed at the back of his head, following Six, staring at the floor.

“We’re b-bored,” he mumbled.

“I’m assuming your brother won’t let you stay with him?”

Six fought against the urge to say how both of them would be safer in the company of the Arrow clan, but they held their tongue, waiting for an answer.

“We’re...giving him t-time to cool down.”

Six laughed, mockingly spitting out as they went through a stack of books on a table, tossing them to the floor, “You were both kicked out. No surprise there.”

Odin watched as the books were strewn about carelessly, but he immediately reached down, picking up a damaged copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, his hand brushing over it thoughtfully as he furrowed his brow, his memories of the past few weeks being rekindled at the accusation.

“I was kicked out. Ava followed,” he said quietly. 

He ran his thumb over the print of Alice’s face as Six tutted under their breath, “That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”

Six made a noise of disgust from the back of their throat at the sight of a fox skull hanging from the wall, stopping to turn and look him in the face. They were nearly eye to eye as Six spoke without sympathy.

“You’re both in hiding. I get it. You’ve been walled up here. But she’s being reckless despite every cop and bounty hunter hounding in on you two. Look around you Arrow. The foundation of this home you’ve created is rotten to the core and it is going to burn to the ground by  _her_  hand. You’re both just waiting for the inevitable.”

Six continued down the hall, taking notice of the curling wallpaper, the fist-sized hole in the wall. They heard something crunch underneath their foot, but swiftly ignoring it, they opened the last door of the hall.

“If you were smart, you would leave this place,” Six argued, pushing open the door. Odin frowned, looking down to the ground before he looked up, a mixture of fear and panic coming across his face as Six opened the door to reveal two black wolfhounds, their ears raised and heads turned to look at them from their spot on the bed.

Upon seeing Six, they went stiff, baring their teeth and flattening their ears against their skulls with a growl.

Odin let out a short whistle, snapping his fingers at them and pointing, saying, “ _Don’t_ ”, while reaching for the door handle, shutting the door while Six backed away.

“New pets?” they sneered, smoothing out the front of their shirt.

“M-More like family pets, or Olai’s pets,” Odin replied, rolling his eyes. He stared at the floor, scooting away a book with the tip of his foot, his sock scratching against the grimy carpet.

“Sh-She’s been with me,” he mumbled, but his words were lost as Six swiftly moved past him, turning around the corner, into the laundry room. They opened the back screen door, grabbing it in place when they realized it was loosely hanging on by a rusted hinge.

“It’s broken,” piped up a small voice. Six turned on their heel, twisting their body to look behind them.

Ava didn’t look up from her seat on the steps. She stared out into the backyard, taking notice of the shadows criss-crossing over the dilapidated fence. Taking the cigarette from her mouth, she flicked the ashes to the side, her arm propped up to let her chin rest in her hand.

Six couldn’t help but notice how she was shaking, despite the warmth of the summer evening.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Six stated, narrowing their eyes.

Ava flickered her line of sight up at them, ignoring the hard lump in her throat when she simply replied, “I don’t. This is for him.”

They didn’t bother holding the door anymore, instead letting it dangle off the house as Odin joined them both.

The three of them seemed to wait for a few moments, listening to the sounds of cars drive on busier streets nearby. Ava scrapped the bottom of her shoes against the cement, sighing heavily, then as if she knew what he was thinking, she raised the lit cigarette into the air.

Odin took it from her, letting his hand pause atop her hand long enough for her to look up.

Before he brought the cigarette to his lips, he asked quietly, “Do you kn-know why they’re here?”

Ava squinted up at him, idly scratching at a pimple on her chin, then at Strategos Six.

She felt like she was going to be sick when she shrugged, saying, “No, not really.”

Six stepped in, quirking a brow at Odin, then spoke as though they had rehearsed this.

“I have a warrant for your arrest, Ava Ire. You’re wanted for suspected arson.”

Odin watched her reaction carefully, and upon seeing her bite at her bottom lip, her nails digging into her knees, he looked to the sky, a defeated laugh coming from his throat as he brought the cigarette to his lips, inhaling the smoke with a shake of his head.

“Of course,” he muttered to himself, the bitterness all too evident in his voice.

Ava leaned forward, letting her forehead rest against her knees. Slowly she just shook her head, listening to the chirp of the crickets, to the dogs barking up and down the street.

Her eyes were burning with tears when she heard the screen door slam shut, his footsteps walking back inside without another word.

Six looked to the papers in their hand. They opened their mouth to explain the linguistics, all the rights and proof and documentation that Ava Ire was a prime suspect in the case, but they went still, folding the papers together before clearing their throat, saying, “It’s beautiful this evening.”

Alone together, Ava pushed herself back up, pressing her palms against her face for a moment before looking up at the sky’s sunset. The pinks and oranges were swirling and burning right before her, and all she could do was watch.

She could jump the fence, she thought to herself. She could run and leave all of them behind.

“I’m not confessing to anything,” she blurted out, denying herself the need to cry. Her face was stained red when she glanced up at Strategos Six. They remained solemn, nodding in reply.

“But you’re not going to run this time?” they questioned. The sunset was dying out, the warmth being pulled away from them as the last rays faded away.

Ava bunched the sleeves of her over-sized hoodie over her wrists, bringing them to her eyes and wiping at the tears.

“No.”

Six put their hands behind their back, taking in the sheen of her red hair before inhaling deeply.

“May I ask why?” they questioned once more.

From somewhere inside the house they heard a door slam shut, followed by dog barks and a ragged voice shouting swears.

Ava peeked over her shoulder.

“I’m too tired,” she simply answered. 

The two wolfhounds could be heard prancing around the house, their nails clacking against the linoleum floor of the laundry room before coming to a halt. Six looked behind them to see their eyes staring from behind the meshed screen door.

The sun could not be seen anymore. Ava lifted herself from the step, shakily at first, nearly stumbling back unto the lawn when she turned.

Six followed her as the pair stepped back into the house, speaking directly, “If there’s anything you want to bring to the station-”

“I don’t have anything,” Ava said back, her hand finding its way to pet the top of the dogs’ heads as she walked down the hall. They followed her closely, their snouts brushing wetly under her arms, nudging at her hands. 

As they walked down the dark hall, the only light coming from the living room, Six hesitated at the room where they had seen the cradle, unsure if they had imagined it or not. They looked at the girl walking ahead of them, watching as she used her teeth to pull an elastic off her wrist, her hands bringing her long red hair into a bun.

At the sight of her neck bare and exposed, Six looked away, finding ugly patterns and uglier burn marks etched into the surrounding walls.

They studied these patterns, going tense with realization that the markings were obviously archaic, almost symbolic in the way they were crafted. They let their eyes trail over these as they walked into the living room, saying, “I understand this is a foreclosed house, but vandalizing isn’t-”

Their words were caught mid-sentence as they watched Ava stand in front of Odin, one arm wrapped around her waist, her hand covering her mouth, face creased in worry. He was sitting on the worn couch with his palms covering his eyes, the half-smoked cigarette wasting away between his fingers. The smoke curled into the air as Ava reached out, but before she could touch him, Odin looked up, taking hold of her gently by the hand and pulling her into his lap.

Six felt as if they shouldn’t be here to witness such an intimate moment. Their face burned, their hands tensing over the papers as Ava brought her arms around his neck, their faces buried into the curve of each other’s necks.

A few mumbled words were exchanged, and then their voices became too weak and wobbly, too high-pitched as Odin said louder, “Wh-Why did you do it? Ava?”

She shook her head, not pulling away. Six stepped back when her small body suddenly jerked, her lungs heaving for breath as she began to sob.

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, pulling back and pressing the palm of her hand against his face. She couldn’t look at him, his own tears rolling silently down his cheeks. “I can’t fix this,” she cried. “I’m sorry.”

Odin shook his head, hiding his face, reaching up to cover his eyes, but before she could leave his lap he pulled her close, breaking down as he whispered, “P-Please don’t leave.”

Ava kissed at his jaw, a few quick pecks over his face, before speaking so quietly that Six could not hear. The officer darted their eyes around the room, taking in how at any other time, the yellow light from the one solitary lamp would give this place a loving, homey feel. They peered at the drawings and paintings stacked against the wall, at the stack of firewood haphazardly placed in the corner. They couldn’t help but roll their eyes at the open box of condoms on the side-table, and instantly their mind flashed back to the crib in the back room.

They forced themself not to bark out a barrage of questions, starting with  _what_ Ava Ire and Odin Arrow were hoping to accomplish in a dump like this, and what exactly they were planning on doing once they were caught, or if they had any plans at all on eventually joining the real world instead of living in Wonderland, courtesy of the rotting creaking floorboards and water dripping from the ceiling and no doubt, a couch indented from sleep and movement and dark nights in, when the only light came from the street lamp above them.

A car’s headlights flooded the room, bright and dreamy when Six heard Odin’s voice whisper, “I don’t w-want to be alone.”

Six felt the weight of those words fill the room, and they realized how tightly they were holding onto the warrant papers of Ava Ire, their heart pounding unsteadily.

The girl sucked in a sharp breath of air, her voice hard as she said, “I know.”

She shakily pushed against his chest, standing to her feet, their hands sliding down each other’s arms.

“You should have never met me in the first place.”

Six’s eyes darted to the ground, taking in the sight of the nasty stained carpet, at the blood and grime and dirt and dog hair embedded into this home, and as Ava walked away into the hall, fully intent on walking out the front door, Six saw Odin drop his head into his hands, the wolfhounds eyeing him sadly as they laid down on the couch beside him.

The forgotten cigarette burned and faded away in the ashtray beside him, its smoke curling into the air, and as Six watched it bounce against the ceiling, a sudden pin prick of panic came over them, at not knowing if either of them would ever see each other again if Ava walked out that door.

Something in the way the distance between the pair made the air seem cold: cold in that they would never be able to find their way back to each other, and without thinking, Six moved quickly to Ava’s side, blocking her path by placing their outstretched hand on the door.

Ava’s wide brown eyes met their’s, and then they spoke.

“I am giving you both ten minutes to pack your things and leave town. The report will be that you both were gone by the time I got here. Do not make a scene and do not expect me to take responsibility for the next time you slip up.”

Ava blinked, unable to speak or move.

Six sighed, wanting to show their obvious disgust at breaking regimen for a couple of vigilantes. They moved their hand off the door to rub at their temple, but went still when they felt Ava’s small hand take hold of their’s. Their eyes met for a moment, her voice speaking quietly in the darkness, cascades of the streetlight flooding in streaks over her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss at the knuckles of their hand.

Six closed their eyes, pursing their mouth as they replied, feeling the warmth of her lips move away, “Don’t make me regret this Miss Ire. You both are on dangerously thin ice.”

“I know,” Ava said in return, backing away. 

Before she turned the corner to tell Odin, she paused, her hand holding onto the corner of the hallway.

“He wants normalcy, you know. A house, a family. Two dogs and a garden. Children to raise, to protect.”

She frowned, her thumbnail scraping into the wall.

“I don’t think we can give each other that though.”

Six placed their hand on the doorknob, asking with a tilt to their head, “And why not?”

They thought of the vision of the baby’s crib, the breeze rustling white curtains over its frame.

“Because we weren’t made to do that,” Ava answered. She smiled tiredly, and with a shrug disappeared into the living room.

Six didn’t stay to hear anymore. The last few sounds coming from the yellow lit room were of disbelief, and then joy, and undoubtedly blooming with the sounds of the pair’s kissing, fumbling for each other between the excitement of the wolfhounds at their sides.

They closed the door behind them, looking up at the streetlight. It whirred and buzzed and they felt as if they might collapse at the emptiness of the outside world. Who would ever know what would happen in that house, behind those witchcraft walls and unkempt rooms and couches smothered with the sleep of two runaways. Six placed their hand over their heart, ignoring the burning tears threatening to spill over, imagining Ava and Odin asking them why they had shown mercy, and Six answering, “Because I knew what it was like to be in love, once,” and with one foot in front of the other, they would have departed from the home, away from something their heart would never feel again.

They shivered, looking one last time at the light of Wonderland before it went out.  


	3. shit happens: the trinity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ava and odin get arrested, strategos six is the reason i have high blood pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also wrote this a while ago, decided to post it here. ava and odin get arrested, no one knows how to get along with each other, six should maybe chill.

“There is no kissing allowed in the back of the police car.”

Six repeated this for the fifth, or perhaps it was the sixth time of this car ride, a car ride that was becoming increasingly distasteful the longer they had to hear the sound of mouths smacking against each other coming from behind them.

A voice leaned in, his smoky breath rolling through the metal grid separating the officer from the passengers, as he chuckled, whispering lowly.

“It’s not k-kissing, it’s making out.”

“I do not care  _what_  it is,” Six snapped. They turned their head to deliver a death glare but stopped short, slamming the brakes at a sudden red light. The two seated in the back were thrown forward, then immediately pushed back at the force. 

Six bristled when they heard giggling, quiet and devilish coming from the girl as they whispered amongst themselves.

And then, the making out continued, noisy and without concern for the spectator driving.

“Both of you, keep your hands off each other and do not-”

“Make out?” Ava intervened. Six looked in the rear view mirror, and instantly their hands curled tighter at the sight of her smile. 

She and Odin both were playing cute at this game.

“We can’t even touch each other because we’re in handcuffs,” Ava huffed in mock annoyance, rolling her eyes as if Six was too stupid to remember this. 

Six sighed, focusing on the road ahead of them. Of all things to be dispatched to, at this hour of the night, a call about two renegades causing trouble at a local club, apparently drunk and causing a disturbance, as the small one haphazardly told strangers detailed accounts of how she was going to, as quoted, “Burn this city to the ground with everyone still in it”, and the tall one, also messily drunk, picking fights and shoving larger club goers with the threat of “You th-think I’m crazy, all of you.” Six was able to pull them aside, but after a struggle to get them to calm down, eventually had to put them in handcuffs. They had led the girl, Ava, in first, and then found the boy, Odin, walking aimlessly on the sidewalk, grumbling to himself. When he was cuffed and put in the car, Six began to explain to them where they were going, turning around and immediately halting in disbelief as they watched the two furiously kiss and bite at each other’s mouths.

After a few moments they cleared their throat with dramatic force to get their attention, speaking up, “Do you two know each other?”

To this question the pair broke apart, eyes glassy and still swimming, spit smeared over their lips, out of breath as they answered together a quick, “Yes”, immediately returning to scrambling recklessly to get on top of each other as Six stared, their upper lip curling in disgust.

However, much to their own personal delight, they discovered these two troublemakers in particular had several other warrants held against them, in the girl’s case, trespassing and destruction of personal property, in the boy’s, shoplifting and general disturbance of the peace. They couldn’t help but roll their eyes at seeing how closely intertwined their criminal offenses were together. Crime always had a partner, didn’t it.

Once again, Six heard the laughter and then they looked in the mirror to repeat the No Kissing/No making out rule, only to see Odin’s face buried at the nape of Ava’s neck, his mouth sucking at her flesh, the girl’s head lolled back and eyes closed in a smile that, undoubtedly, said she would rather be nowhere else than here in the back of this police car.

Six slammed the brakes in the middle of the road, lurching the car forward with enough force to get them to separate.

Without warning they turned the police car into an empty parking lot, putting it in park, leaving the keys in the ignition and flinging the door open. They kept one hand on their taser, opening the back door and ordering precisely, “Get out.”

Ava and Odin blinked, and Six inhaled slowly at the sight of their still inebriated faces, their eyes dizzy and obviously confused as they tilted their heads in unison at the order.

Six pinched the bridge of their nose with a gloved hand, closing their eyes and speaking more directly, “Step out of the vehicle.”

Odin pulled his legs out first, stepping out a bit awkwardly, slowly trying to find where the ground started and his legs ended. Ava shimmied out next, blinking at the lone street light shining down on them.

Strategos Six waited until they were both paying attention, side by side with their hands cuffed behind their backs.

“Do you know why we’re here?” they asked. 

“Because we’re bad drunks,” Ava answered dully, causing Odin to look to the ground, a tiny smirk coming across his mouth.

“For public disturbance,” Six said back, their hand still resting over the taser. It was fairly easy to look the boy in the eyes but for the girl they had to keep their head nearly facing the ground. “And,” they continued, ignoring the way the two delinquents both nudged at each other in amusement, “I’ve pulled over here because you’re being a disturbance again, which-”

“T-T-To  _you_ ,” Odin interjected, quirking a brow. “We’re not hurting anybody by k-kissing.”

He looked to Ava, catching her glance, and then immediately he spoke up again, “ _You’re_  the d-disturbance for w-watching us.”

Six was silent, their jaw clenching for a moment before they calmly reached for their dispatch radio, saying, “I’m going to need back-up, at the corner of Old Main and Front Street.”

Odin threw his head back, exhaling a sigh so deep that his shoulders went slack as Ava clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, her face scrunching as she hissed, “ _We weren't doing anything_.”

Six ignored them, listening to the voice of their fellow officer ask if they should expect any violence from the arrested pair.

“No, I don’t think so. But expect anything though,” they chuckled. “Yeah, it’s the parking lot, right at the corner."

Odin bit at his bottom lip, squinting at the ground before making a split second decision.

He looked over at Ava, and immediately she swallowed, a faint turn of her mouth forming into a grin.

“Back to the nest, right?”

Odin grinned too, so quick that the flash of his canine seemed imagined for that moment.

“See you s-soon Firefly,” he whispered. 

And before Six had the chance to lower their radio, the two split in different directions, so fast and so quickly that Six could only gasp at first. They couldn’t make a decision fast enough, so they darted to the right, immediately taking chase of the boy.

“Stop!” they cried out. 

Upon realizing he was too fast to catch, his body already disappearing into the darkness, Six turned on their heel and sprinted after the girl, but jerked in place when they realized she had fallen and was laying on her side, trying desperately to pull herself up.

Six jogged to her, yanking her up by the elbow, unyielding despite the fact blood was gushing from her mouth and chin where she had hit the pavement.

“What did you think was going to happen?”

Ava looked away, her red hair falling over her face. In a surge of defiance she jerked away, but was unable to be freed of Strategos touch.

“I deal with people like you all the time,” Six sneered, moving behind the short girl and keeping their hands clasped firmly on her wrists. “You think you’re being rebellious, but you’re not. You’re being stupid, reckless-”

They jerked Ava back into the police car, taking notice of her bloody knees and elbows. They winced at how raw and damaging the injury was, realizing how hard she must have hit the ground in her attempt to escape.

Six mumbled the word “miscreants”, losing their train of thought as they studied her face, finally getting a decisive look at her under the eerie solitary light. Her eyes stayed to the ground, her whole body tense, but in that instant Six went soft at how desperately she was trying to keep from crying, despite her bottom lip wobbling and her face turning ten shades redder than it had before.

“ ** _What_**?” she choked out bitterly, eyeing Strat with a hatred that caused them to go tense. 

“Your lip is bleeding,” Six said. 

“And you don’t think I know that?” Ava shot back, narrowing her eyes.

Six reached out, their gloved thumb pressing against her bottom lip.

“I think I can help mend it,” Six said. They looked at the bright red hickey blotched against her neck. Six pursed their mouth, and for a brief moment pictured what it would be like to place their lips against that same spot. 

Six leaned in, reaching up to pull the mask from their face, but before they could get any closer, they felt two hands grab them from behind, throwing them to the ground.

They hit the pavement with enough force to make them see white, their entire body crying out in shock from the impact. In a daze they blinked, first hearing the shouts and swears coming from the voices above them, and when the ringing had left their ears, they shoved themself off the ground, shaking their head against the pain.

They caught a glimpse of the two running away into the night, and they began to run too, fumbling for their radio and calling for immediate backup.

The chase was on as they followed the sounds of their steps along the pavement, then to the grass.

Six squinted against the dark, realizing they had followed the runaways into a church courtyard, the steeple silhouetting blacker than night against the pin pricks of stars dotting the sky above them.

They trailed through the courtyard, taking slow, quiet breaths as they carefully pulled the gun from their holster, keeping it at hip level, their eyes roaming the darkness. They caught sight of a statue of the Virgin Mary, momentarily believing it to be a real person, but before they could relax they felt a forceful hand grab at their wrist, pushing them to the ground and causing the gun to be knocked from their hand.

The weight of the attacker fell on them as Six scrambled for the fallen gun, but a small foot, revealed by the church’s only yellow light, kicked it away. Six paused, eyeing the lines of red, glistening blood flowing down that leg, looking up to only see more darkness.

Ava did not move away as Odin straddled Six, his hands curled into fists at their shirt collar, his voice low as he growled, “Do not f-fucking move.”

Ava’s voice could be heard next. Methodically she stepped into the light, arms crossed.

“Don’t follow us either.”

Six barked out a laugh, their gloved hands clawing at Odin’s wrists.

“You two don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into.”

Ava said nothing. She looked from Six, and then looked at the statue of the Virgin Mary, pure and white and bathed in the yellow light from above, moths of all sizes fluttering about spastically.

Decidedly Ava spoke up, stating, “Next time we won’t be so merciful.”

Odin made a move to release Six, but before he did, Six scoffed, repugnant and despicable scorn in their voice as they filled the silence.

“Tell me how it is, to be hated in a town you’ll never be free from.”

Odin cocked a brow, halting. Ava did not flinch, but as if she had heard this before, she hunched her shoulders closer to herself, her face creased in a frown.

Six took a good look at her, a girl with red, unwashed hair, a red, unwashed acne-scarred face, a tattered shirt and jeans with holes of red blood soaked at the knees, a girl who knew what it felt like to be touched and loved, who would unmistakably go home with someone who would love her; and without sympathy, they felt the bitterness boil in their throat as they quickly pulled the mask down their face, reaching out to grab Odin by the back of his head to pull him down so that their lips could meet.

They didn’t need to see Ava’s face to know how she felt.

Sliding their tongue over Odin’s, he gasped into their open mouth, pulling away, a string of spit following him, his eyes wide and full of fear as Ava joined him by his side, pulling him at the crook of his arm to move him away.

The fire in her eyes was nothing short of an inferno, Six admonished.

As they felt the taller boy’s weight scramble off them, Six called out before they could leave.

“It must be good, to be in your position Ava Ire.”

The girl veered back, snarling without restraint, “What? To be a leader of a rebellion? Because I don’t think you’re the type.”

Six laughed breathily, full of amusement.

“No, Miss Ire. It must be good to be in your position above him in bed.”

Six did not waver when Ava lunged forward, fully intent on tearing at their face, but before she could, Odin wrapped an arm around her, coaxing her away. He delivered his own glare, his arm around her shoulders as they stalked off into the night.

Six laughed again, unsure why, but they lowered their body back to the ground, rolling their head to face the Virgin Mary.

It was a beautiful statue. All that was missing, they believed, was the body of Christ resting in her lap.


End file.
